Electric toaster



July 7, 1936. G, AVE'NBURG 2,046,472

ELECTRIC ToAsTER Filed Dec. 18, 193s 2 sheets-sheet 2 'eozyeLaz/ezzuy INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented July 7, 1936 2,046,472

UNITED STATES vPATENT oFFicE ELECTRIC TOASTER George Lavenburg, New York, N. Y. Application December 18, 1933, Serial No. 702,861

18 Claims. (Cl. ll-16) 'Ihis invention relates to new and useful imdown, leaving slider I4 and yoke I3 free to travel .provements in electric toasters and particularly downward. Once the yoke I3 is moved. into its to a timing arrangement for toasters. lowermost position, the tension of spring 1 exerted In my copending application Serial No. 664,493, on slider I4 through the levers 5 is insufiicient to 5 filed April 5, 1933, I describe an electric bread move yoke I3 into the opposite direction and 5 toaster in which the timing of the toasting operathus lift the bread platform unless the operator tion is controlled by an electric motor delivergrasps thehandles 5 and pushes them upward. ing, through the agency of an impeller and a In this manner the device can be manually steel ball, impacts to the operating mechanism moved from its toasting to its idle position.

, of the toasting platform, and in response to said An automatic means in the form of electro- 10 impacts the toasting platform is moved from'its magnetic mechanism is also provided for perfully operated toits normal position. forming this function. The automatic means In accordance with the present invention, the consists of an electromagnet I1 mounted on base timing of the toasting platform is controlled I by means of a bracket I8 and cooperating with l5 solely by electromagnetic means. an armature I9 preferably riveted to leg I6 of l5 The nature of the invention will more clearly the above mentioned steel bar. When the mag-.- appear from a. preferred embodiment thereof and net I1 is energized, it will attract its armature the appended claims. and flex the steel bar in a clockwise direction (as In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a viewed in Fig. 1). When the magnet is detoaster embodying the invention; energized then, owing to its resiliency, the steel 20 Fig. 2 is a top plan view; and bar will return to its original position. 'I'he Fig. 3 the circuit diagram of the toaster and back-and-forth movement Aof leg I5 with respect timing mechanism. to slider I4 will permit the latter step by step I is the base of the toaster, 2 the toasting comto move up under the joint action of the motion partment or oven enclosing resistance elements of leg I5 and the motion of levers 5 caused by 25 3 and a bread platform 4, by means of which spring 1 and thus gradually lift the bread platslices of bread may be moved vertically with form into its top position. respect to the compartment. The circuit of the resistance 3 and the magnet When it is desired to make toast, slices of bread I1 extends from one leg of the power lines 20 are inserted in the oven through Slots provided through a mercury switch 2l and thence through a0 in the top thereof. The slices of bread will rest the resistance 3 in parallel back tothe other leg on the platform 4 between adjacent resistance of the line. A branch of this circuit extends 4elements 3. Then two levers 5 are rotated downthrough a second mercury switch 22 and the Ward around their Divot Shaft 5 and against winding of magnet I1 back to the line, energizing the tension of spring 1. As the levers 5 are moved magnet I1 and heating the resistances 3 when 35 downward, the bread platform 4 drops by gravity, the mercury switch 2| is closed. As indicated in drawing with it a cable 8, one end of which is Fig. 1, the mercury switch 2l is pivotally mountattached to a plate 9 interconnecting the proed on the side wall of the oven 2 and it tends jecting ends of the bread platform 4. The cable to tilt toward the vclosed position unless held open passes over a roller I0 mounted on the side wall by a finger 2|1 projecting from the plate'9. As 40 of the oven 2 and a roller II mounted in brackets soon asV the bread platform 4 is lowered, the I2 on the base I. The other end of the cable 8 switch 2| will tip over and close the above deis attached to yoke I3 of L-shaped cross-section scribed circuit and maintain said circuit closed which rests on levers 5 by means of a rod or until the bread platform returns to its normal slider I4 riveted tc the yoke I3. The yoke I3 and or uppermost position, whereupon finger 2|1 will 45 the slider I4 frictionally engage one leg I5 of a tilt back the mercury switch to open the circuit. steel bar, the other leg i6 of which bends sub- Two or more resistances 3 may be cut out by stantially at right angles with respect to I5 and means of switch 30.

is riveted to the base at |61. The frictional en- The opening and closing of' the mercury switch gagement between the slider I4 and the edge of 22 which controls the branch of the circuit, in- 50 yoke I3, and the inside surface of the steel bar cluding magnet I1, is controlled by an electromag- I5, is such that considerable resistance is offered net 23 mounted by means of a bracket 24 on base to displacement of cable 8. 'I'his resistance is I. This magnet is provided with an armature 25 overcome by the lowering of the bread platform, pivoted at one end to the magnet frame at 26, the

provided 0f course that the levers 5 are moved other end of the armature bein-g free and adapted 55 to fall by gravity and being connected by means of a link 2l with a drum 28 which may be oscillated around a shaft 29 and which carries the mercury switch 22. In the deenergized position of the magnet 23 the mercury switch 22 is closed and in the energized position of the magnet the drum 28, having rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, tilts the mercury switch 22 so as to open the circuit. The magnet 23 is connected in parallel with the magnet il. Therefore, through the agency of mercury switch 22, it will operate as a buzzer alternately to close andopen its own energizing circuit and that of magnet il, as long as switch 2l maintains the main branch of the circit closed. l

Preferably, both magnets il and 23 have laminated cores and armatures. The magnet 23 has also a suitable abutment 301 interposed between its pole face and the armature25. By means of the electrical and mechanical characteristics of magnet 23, and the shape and length of mercury switch 22, the timing of successive operations of magnet 23 may be fixed at will. The extent to which armature 25is'perm'itted to oscillate is controlled by means of a set screw 3| projecting through an angle piece 32 mounted on bracket 24.

What is claimed is:

1. In an'electric toaster, an oven, electric heating elements'associated with said oven, a bread platform, means for moving said platform in two opposed directions with respect to said oven, a circuit for `,said heating elements. a mercury switch controlled by said means and controlling said circuit, electromagnetic means for operating said means for moving said bread platform in one direction, and a second mercury switch jointly controlling with said rst mentioned switch said electromagnetic means.

v2. In an electric toaster, an oven, electric heating elements associated with said oven, a bread platform, means for moving said platform in two opposed directions with respect to said oven, a circuit for said heating elements, a mercury switch controlled by said means and controlling said circuit, an electromagnet for operating said means for moving said bread platform in one direction, and a circuit for said electromagnet including a second mercury switch and said rst mentioned switch.

3. In an electric toaster, an oven, electric heating means associated with said oven, a bread platform, means for lowering said platform into said oven, a cable for raising said bread platform within said oven, a resilient bar, a. spring pressed pivoted lever, a slider attached to the end of said cable and forced by said lever into frictional engagement with said bar, an electromagnet, an amature for said electromagnet fastened to said bar, and means for opening and closing the circuit of said magnet whereby said magnet will iiex said bar and permit said slider to move with respect thereto.

4. In combination, a slider, an electromagnet, an armature therefor comprising a resilient bar having two legs, a spring pressed pivoted lever forcing said slider into frictional engagement with one of said legs, means for opening and closing the circuit of said magnet whereby said magnet will flex said bar and permit saidslider to advance in one direction with respect thereto.

5. In combination, a timed element, an electromagnet, an armature therefor comprising a resilient bar having two legs, a spring pressed pivoted lever forcing said element into frictional engagement with one of said legs, timing means for opening and closing the circuit of said magnet whereby said magnet will iiex said bar and permit said element to advance an allotted distance in a substantially predetermined time in one direction 5 with respect thereto.

6. In combination, a slider, an electromagnet having a, circuit and an armature, a bar moved by said armature, said slider being in frictional engagement with said bar, a spring pressed lever l0 for holding said slider against displacement, and

means for opening and closing the circuit of said magnet to attract and release said bar and permit said slider and lever to advance in one direction with respect thereto. 15 7. In combination, an electromagnet having a movable armature, an element responsive to said armature and rotatable in one direction when the magnet is energized and in the opposite direction when the magnet permits its armature to fall off 20 by gravity, a mercury switch mounted on said element for controlling the circuit of said electromagnet, said mercury switch being tipped in one direction upon the energization of said magnet immediately to interrupt said circuit and lin 25 the opposite direction upon the deenergization of said magnet immediately to close said circuit, a timing means including a second electromagnet, a timed element controlled by said second electromagnet, a circuit for said second electromagnet 0. including said mercury switch for gradually advancing said timed element, and means for holding said timed element in its advanced position. 8. In a device according to claim 7, a timing means including a second electromagnet, a timed element controlled by said second electromagnet,

a circuit for said second electromagnet including said mercury switch for gradually advancing said timed element, and means for holding said timed element in its advanced position.

9. In combination, an electric circuit-controlling switch, a timing mechanism including an electromagnet having a circuit controlled by said switch, a iiexible bar forming part of said mechanism, a slider in frictional engagement with said bar, means including said magnet for opening and closing the circuit of the magnet, means responsive to the opening and closing of said circuit for flexing said bar to move said slider, means for actuating said switch to open saidcircuit when said slider has travelled to a certain advanced position, and manually operable means for actuating said switch to close said circuit.

10. In an electric toaster, an oven, electric heating means associated with said oven, a movable platform having a normal and a plurality of advanced positions, means for moving said platform in one direction into any advanced position within said oven, an electromagnet having an armature, means for closing the circuit of said electromagnet, means including said armature for repeatedly opening and closing said circuit, and means responsive to the repeated closing and opening oi' said circuit for gradually moving said platform from any advanced position in the opposite direction out of the oven and back into the normal position.

11. In an electric toaster, an oven, electric heating means associated with said oven, a movable 70 platform having a normal and a plurality of advanced positions, means for lowering said platform into any advanced position within said oven, an electromagnet having an armature, means including the armature for repeatedly opening vand 76 closing the circuit of said electromagnet, and means responsive to each energization and deenergization of said electromagnet for raising said platform from any advanced position.

12. In an electric toaster, an oven, electric heating elements associated with said oven, a bread platform, means for moving said platform in two opposed directions with respect to said oven, a circuit for said heating elements, a mercury switch operated upon the movement of said platform in one direction and controlling said circuit, electromagnetic means having a circuit and operating said means fo'r moving said bread platform in one direction, and a second mercury switch for periodically making and breaking the circuit of said electromagnetic means.

13. In an electric toaster, an oven, electric heating means associated with said oven, a platform, a spring-pressed lever operable in two directions, a mechanical connection: between said lever and platform for lowering said platform into said oven when said lever is operated in one direction, a resilient bar, a frictional coupling between said lever and said bar, an electromagnet, a circuit .for said magnet, an armature for said magnet comprising said bar, and means for opening and closing the circuit of said magnet whereby said magnet will ex said bar and permit said Alever to move in the other direction gradually to raise said platform in a direction out of said oven.

14. In combination, a spring-pressed lever, an electromagnet, an armature therefor comprising a resilient bar, a frictional coupling between said lever and said bar, means for opening and closing the circuit of said magnet whereby said magnet will flex said bar and permit said lever to advance in one direction with respect thereto.

15. In combination, a timed element comprising a lever, a spring normally tending to move said lever in one direction, an electromagnet, an armature therefor comprising a resilient bar, a frictional coupling between said lever and said bar, timing means for opening and cl ing the circuit of said magnet whereby said m et will flex said bar and permit said lever to advance an allotted distance in a substantially predetermined time in one direction with respect thereto.

16. In combination, a'timed element comprising a lever adapted to be moved from a normal to a plurality of advanced positions, a spring normally tending to move said lever towards its normal position, an electromagnet, a circuit for said magnet, an amature therefor comprising a resilient bar, a frictional coupling between said lever and said bar, timing means for opening and closing the circuit of said magnet whereby said magnet will ex said bar and permit said lever to advance from any advanced position in substantially predetermined times back to the normal position.

17. In combination', an electric circuit-controlling switch, a timing mechanism including an electromagnet having a circuit controlled by said switch, a flexible bar forming part of said mechanism, a spring-pressed lever, a frictional coupling between said lever and said bar, manually operable means including said lever for actuating said switch to close said circuit, means including said magnet for opening and closing the circuit of said magnet, means responsive to the opening and closing of said circuit for flexing said bar to advance said lever, and means for actuating said switch to open said circuit when said lever has advanced a predetermined distance.

18. In combination, an electric circuit-com trolling switch, a timing mechanism including an electromagnet having a circuit controlled by' for actuating said switch to close said circuit,

means including said magnet for opening and Aclosing the circuit of said magnet, means responsive to the opening and closing of said circuit for `ilexing said bar to advance said lever from any advanced position, and means for actuating saidv switch to open said circuit when said levenhas advanced back to the normal position.

GEORGE LAVENBURG. 

